The operator of grocery stores including Safeway, Vons and Dominick's said third-quarter income from continuing operations was $108 million, or 45 cents per share, versus $130.3 million, or 38 cents per share, a year earlier.

During the quarter, Safeway closed one Genuardi's store and sold 16 Genuardi's stores for an after-tax gain of $49 million. Including that gain, it earned $157 million, or 66 cents per share, in the quarter that ended Sept. 8.

Total sales slipped to $10.05 billion from $10.06 billion, hurt by the Genuardi's store closures and a lower Canadian exchange rate, factors that were partially offset by higher sales of gasoline. Closely watched identical-store sales, excluding fuel, rose 0.1 percent.